[2017 Rugby Championship] Round 6: Argentina v Australia (08/10/2017)

[TRF_heineken]

Venue: Estadio Malvinas Argentinas​

Time: 00:30 CAT (SA, GMT+2)​

 

[FNS]

Aus by 10. Saw them against SA. Ahead of us in everything right now.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Aus by 10. Saw them against SA. Ahead of us in everything right now.

Pretty much that. Walllabies inconsistent but have played better than last year for signficant spells of this competition. Beale is making a huge difference.

 

[Dark Horse]

I'm going for Aus by 26. Nobody does pressurised implosions like the Pumas - the most frustrating talented team in world rugby. They'll pressure the Wallaby line in the first half but will come away with nothing. The first 10 mins of the second half will be give and take before Aussie handling outpaces the Pumas defence repeatedly in the final 20. They'll also pressurise the Puma scrum to a great extent.

 

[The Jones Boy]

I can't see Argentina causing problems for the Wallabies.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Matera says "to beat Italy in November will not give us anything." Cheeky beggar.

Imagine how distraught he'll be if they lose.

 

[Dark Horse]

Matera says "to beat Italy in November will not give us anything." Cheeky beggar.

Imagine how distraught he'll be if they lose.

Maybe slightly disrespectful but he is correct. Is there any Argentina fan here who thinks this team is performing to its potential. Should these players not be pushing the best teams and at least being difficult to beat. More should be expected of this talented team. People pay money -a lot of money in Argentina I believe- to watch them yet they don't win any games of note. Ever. For club or country. Two time RWC semi finalists. The country that gave us Porta, Mendez, Pichot and Contepomi. The country who bring culture, colour and verve to the world game with a raucous and unique atmosphere at home games - look at Arg vs NZ at River Plate, 2001 on YouTube. Incredible. Yet they serve up shite every time they've taken the field since October 2015. Matera knows this and is asking more of the team.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I'd say 99% of the words that come out of the players/staff are nothing short of infuriating.
Even until the last 4 games of the SR season even the press was on their side. UAR is, quite literally, a close friends club.

 

[Spuds100]

Argentina by 32.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Argentina national anthem makes me laugh every time.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I feel lucky.

 

[Spuds100]

Argentina national anthem makes me laugh every time.

They need to relax. They use up so much energy with their emotion.

 

[Spuds100]

Can't believe none of the commentators saw that knock on until the video ref mentioned it.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Very good game. Hodge was immense, he's a real talent. I've never liked the idea of him on the wing but he was utilised very well there today

 

[FNS]

At least they went back to 60 min of rugby. Then collapsing as usual. I dont know were our expansive rugby went or our close game. I hope they fire Hourcade soon.

ps. For some reason i hate the wallabies.

 

[RoosTah]

Not a bad performance from the wallabies, but they were still pretty sloppy for long stretches. That said, to win by 17 points and leave another 17 out there in missed goal kicks whilst also bombing a try at the end isn't too bad

 

[galumay]

I was out fishing for the weekend so only just got to watch the games, I thought Australia looked like they were suffering a bit from the long season and travel, didnt seem to have the same intensity or speed they showed against SA. I think the progress is that despite that they found a way to win a game that a couple of seasons ago they would have found a way to lose. Foley putting on his boots back to front looked like it might be the difference for a while, but in the end it didnt matter - this time.

All in all, to finish 2nd in the Rugby Championship is a good outcome for this young side, the spring tour will be interesting!

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Koroibete again making an impact - I'd wager this is the second best 9-15 in rugby with the Wallabies now (if they can find a goal kicker!). It is hard to judge but I think the Wallabies area significantly improved on the 2016 version and will do some damage in the EOYT. I think Italy will give Argentina a very close contest (if Italy have not had to change their defensive coach).

 

[AM_Bokke]

I thought that this match was very low quality. Maybe the Boks v. All Blacks game was just tough to follow but I think that this game was boring.

While a lot of people think that the Wallabies are improving I actually think that they are underwhelming. With the core that they have of Beale, Gina, Hodge, Simmons, Moore, Tatafu, Foley, Kuridrani and Folau I think that they should be playing better. I know that Moore and Tatafu sort of suck and are basically past it but still. They have a lot of experience. That core should've put SA away in both games. I think that they were also lucky with some key referee decisions in both Arg games and didn't play as well as the scoreboard suggested. They are very lucky to have Beale and Gina committed to the cause. Them, plus Folau, are players of a top caliber that I think SA and Arg just don't have right now.

I tend to think that Aus will tire through the rest of the year and have a poor European tour. I even think that Japan might even be a contest because the Wallabies don't have a great scrum anyway and they will be coming off the third Bledisloe that I think they will pour their hearts into. Japan's backs can also run for tries in a way that Arg's and SA's couldn't this year. Strangely, of the Wallabies remaining games this year and given the likely odds, the 3rd Bledisloe is the one that I might put the most money on them to win.

As for the Pumas, ah man. A big part of me wants to call them unlucky but then I consider their decision making, their defense and their passing and it's like they aren't even humans out there. It's like a bunch of apes playing a man's game. I feel like there is no hope of them ever winning a game again. Absolutely no one seems to be performing. If there is a team that needs a new coach and management team it is them. I think that it very likely that they will lose all of their European games. Wales being the one I think that they will have the best shot in. Yes, I think Italy will beat them. Maybe they look especially bad playing NZ, SA and Aus but I don't see them winning a game until summer of 2018 after a new coach has some time to figure out how to get the best out of each player. Then maybe they can slowly come back and build to RWC 2019.

 

[Dark Horse]

^^Bokke

I think you described the Pumas perfectly. This is a really unusual run of games but they haven't helped themselves by behaving completely illogically during games, marauding around with no real thought process behind the decisions they come to at any given moment. The coach seems a good man but he must be satisfied with the fact that he brought the team to the RWC semis and make way for someone who can bring a different approach. I've heard it said that Argentina need a foreign coach but that isn't the case - they need the right coach. Who that is is another matter.